Understanding Your Primary Acne Trigger - Hormones

Author: Jessica Gremley

HORMONES

A practical guide for getting clear

Your Primary Acne Trigger is―HORMONES

You’re in the right place

Congrats! You’ve taken the Acne Trigger Finder and the results are in.

Based on your answers to the questions, your PRIMARY acne trigger is Hormones. And now, with this guide in hand, you’re on your way to better understanding your primary acne trigger and ways you can begin healing your skin.

REMEMBER! This guide is just one part of your Hormones Clear Skin Kit. It’s critical, if you haven’t already, to watch the Online Clear Skin Training, also included inside your Clear Skin Kit.

I created this online training especially for you, because hormones can have a significant impact on your acne! In the online training, I share even more secrets on how this trigger sabotages your skin, and what you can do to take back control.

Ready to learn more about your primary acne trigger?

Let’s dive in!

1. Common characteristics

Location: Breakouts around the mouth, along jawline, chin and/or back and shoulders.

As a female, you’ll most likely experience hormonal acne around the mouth, chin and along the jawline. Acne on the cheeks and/or forehead typically also indicates a hormonal breakout. If your acne is not on the chin or jawline, it’s fairly safe to rule out hormones as your primary trigger.

If you have acne on your back or shoulders as a female, most likely you’re on a hormonal IUD, implant or birth control device of some kind. While I can’t go into all the details of why this happens here, basically, this is birth control induced acne. If you want to clear your skin, you may wish to consider an alternative birth control method.

Hormonal acne also tends to flare up in the same pore over and over again. You may see your skin just starting to heal from last month’s breakout, then another popping up in the same place. Super frustrating, I know. And it feels like the dark mark left behind is never going away. (Thank god for concealer!)

2. More Telltale Signs

Timing: Breakouts come and go through the monthly menstrual cycle. The week prior to your period is when the most hormonal acne flares up.

If you’re in tune with your body, and can detect a pattern between when your period starts and a breakout, then you likely have hormonal acne.

For instance, ever notice your skin getting worse 7 to 10 days before your period? During the latter part of the luteal phase of menstruation, if the released egg doesn’t become fertilized, estrogen and progesterone drop, which causes the onset of your period. These shifts in hormones in turn, trigger acne, albeit the exact sequence isn’t entirely known.

Note, however, that some women are genetically predisposed to high androgen levels, and low estrogen and progesterone levels. Known as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, this hormonal imbalance not only can be acne triggering, it also causes them to skip menstrual periods. And, instead of their ovaries releasing eggs, tiny small, fluid-filled sacs cysts are formed. Research indicates that a high percentage of women are unaware they have the syndrome.

3. Likely Landmines

Rebalancing your hormones alone will not get rid of your acne.

Acne does not happen in a vacuum. In most cases, it’s not triggered by one singular event.

For example, when I started treating my acne like the complicated, intricate condition that it is, that I finally achieved lasting results. Initially, I learned how to get myself clear and then how to do it for clients. If hormones are your primary acne trigger, simply “fixing” your hormone imbalance will probably not be enough.

Here’s why:

1. Most likely, you have other lifestyle factors that also trigger your acne (i.e. eating acne triggering foods, prolonged or high stress, gut issues, and/or make-up and skincare that is clogging your pores). 
2. Speaking of stress! Stress activates the adrenal glands and produces too many hormones (androgens) which eventually result in acne flare-ups in acne-sensitive pores. These excessive androgen hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands beneath the skin. The increased oil production triggers the microcomedone to flare to the surface, causing an inflamed breakout.
3. Remember, acne is first and foremost a skin condition. If you are seeing active breakouts superficially on the skin, then you must dissolve pre-acne hiding under the surface with topical product usage. By simply rebalancing the hormones (which I’ve never experienced as being simple) and not addressing the surface of the skin, you will still have acne for a long time to come.

4. Secondary Triggers

You should know―you probably have more than one acne trigger. While identifying your primary acne trigger is crucial in your quest to get clear, please realize…

There’s MORE than one trigger aggravating your acne. We typically find that our clients have 3 to 4 triggers all impacting their skin at one time. 

Common secondary acne triggers include gut imbalance, stress and diet. Two acne instigators often derail your clearing  efforts as well. The first are pore-clogging ingredients in your skincare, hair care, laundry and beauty care products―even many topical acne care products! The second instigator is sticking to an acne care routine that’s unknowingly harming and/or perpetuating your acne.  

You might be aware of some of these triggers and instigators; others, you might not have had a clue they’re impacting your skin!

The important thing to know is: all systems in our body are interrelated. Triggers like hormonal imbalance can set off a chain reaction―like eating the wrong foods, which can unsettle your gut, trigger systemic inflammation, which in turn can trigger acne. You get the picture.

What can you do? 

If you believe your acne may be impacted by secondary triggers and instigators like these, be sure to check out the acne trigger and acne topic pages inside Clear Skin Connection. Each is packed with proven, research-backed resources so you can take the best path forward to heal your skin.

Meanwhile, here’s the lowdown on the three secondary triggers that may be impacting your skin.

GUT IMBALANCE

Breakouts related to gut imbalance occur on the cheeks and side of face by the ears.

Bloating, gassiness, skipping bowel movements, stomach aches, cramping and leaky gut are all signs of gut imbalance. The most common gut issue is constipation. You should be having 2 bowel movements a day. Yes, two! If not, you can naturally rebalance your gut microbiome with therapeutic-grade Probiotics (such as our Clove Hill Clear Skin Probiotic-10), Oil of Oregano and Fish Oil.

STRESS

Stress is the trickiest of all the acne triggers as it can show up, at least a little bit, in just about everyone.

Stress-induced breakouts usually occur within 48 hours of a stressful event. If you suspect you have this trigger, pay close attention to timing. You can naturally relieve stress with proven selfcare methods like exercise, mindful breathing techniques, meditation and laughter. In addition, the right supplement for acne-prone skin (such as our Clove Hill Adrenal Stress Formula) can provide the missing nutrients you need to strengthen, support and rebuild your adrenal glands.

DIET

Bet you’ve heard this again and again―chocolate and French fries trigger acne. Nope! 

Research has proven that’s a myth. Instead, many common “good-for-you” foods trigger your breakouts because they contain iodine or androgens. Breakouts occur 24 to 48 hours after eating acne-triggering food including cow’s milk, peanut butter, sea plants and shrimp. Once you identify and stop eating foods triggering your acne, your skin can begin to recover from this trigger. Try substituting in new favorites like almond milk, cashew butter and freshwater fish to continue enjoying satisfying meals.

5. Time for relief

You can naturally rebalance your body with herbs and supplements.

Despite what your doctor may tell you, you can rebalance your hormones and clear hormonal acne without birth control pills. Finding your body’s healthy balance of estrogen, progesterone and androgen is one of the critical keys to eliminating acne.

Unlike birth control pills that tell your hormones exactly what to do, herbs allow your body and nature to achieve its unique equilibrium. Herbs have the beautiful quality of allowing your body to naturally rebalance itself with no harmful side effects. This is a win:win result in our opinion!

A few last thoughts…

Thank you for joining me in this guide!

You’ve learned a lot about your primary acne trigger―Hormones.

From common characteristics and secondary causes, telltale signs and likely landmines, to quick ways you can start getting relief, you’re equipped to begin taking back control.

One of the most important things I want you to keep in mind is this―acne is an important way your body tells you “something is off”.

The link between acne and hormones definitely falls into this category. And, unfortunately, the longer you ignore the signs of hormonal imbalance, the more breakouts you’ll have.

I know you’ll want to take action and do the right thing!

And now that you have this guide―and all of Clear Skin Central―at your fingertips, you’re better prepared than ever to make the right choices to heal your skin.

Congrats and best wishes!

Jessi Gremley
Creator of Clear Skin Central